TWs: Antisemitism, Child Death

2.5 Stars, rounded down

I like to occasionally read outside of my comfort zone, and expand on my normal genres. The Ghosts of Rose Hill, a YA fantasy, would not have been something I normally would have chosen, had it not been for Netgalley. The story was fine, but it doesn't seem to be something that a year from now I'm going to be able to recall the details.

I will say that I did enjoy Ilana's character! And the cover of the book is simply gorgeous. The pacing wasn't terrible, but it did kind of slow down at times, making it hard to stay focused on the story.

Looking at the ratings though, it seems like I'm an outlier. Even though it wasn't a hit for me, I'd still suggest others to give it a try.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback :)

This novel represents love, loss, and the many forms monsters take in this world.

I absolutely loved this book! I was very excited when I saw it was a novel in verse; it's been my experience that this type of format makes the characters much more accessible and it expresses the characters' emotions more strongly than a regular novel might, and I saw this reflected in this novel, as well. The main character, Ilana, is at an age when she is trying to find her own way in the world, but is still weighed down by the expectations of her parents and the ghosts of her family's past. I love that the author included historical context throughout this novel, so that the reader can more fully understand the circumstances that made Ilana's families who/how they are, and it's through these historical components that the reader sees the differences between generations and how they're shaped into what they are. Then you have the supernatural elements that connect the past and Ilana's modern-day life. The "monster" in this book reflects both Jewish legend and actual real-life struggles that children/teens can experience. It's both inspiring and relatable to see the main character go through these struggles, find her voice, and tackle her obstacles head-on, which sets her on the path of leaving her childhood and going towards womanhood.

My main takeaways: pick this novel up if you love beautiful prose, the supernatural/folklore, history, love (in its many forms), or a good young adult story. This novel is absolutely magical! I would highly recommend this book to teens who are trying to find their way in the world, as well as adults who have ever been a lost and confused teenager.

Simply beautiful. An absolutely stunning piece of work. I hope to read more from Romero in the future!

I have always had an interest in novels in verse and I think this is another excellent one. The writing had a riveting plot, a lot of history and culture, and an empowering character arc for our main character, all while being wrapped in some truly lovely language.

This is a short read since it is in verse but I enjoyed every minute of it. As someone who wrote some of my final projects for my degree on accessible poetry and YA novels in verse, I wish I had had this as a fantastic example when I was writing those essays.

This is a lovely YA novel-in-verse that I highly recommend to any kind of fiction reader. The verse was vivid and painted a gorgeous picture of Prague, and incorporated folklore into the story beautifully.

Nothing will ever hit the way a romance subplot between a ghost and a human does... Add in the fact that this is a novel in verse with beautiful writing and you can imagine that I was a MESS.

This was a quick read all by all, but it's just so powerful and emotional. I don't read a lot of novels in verse because I feel like with many of them, getting attached to characters is a lot harder, and while this was still kinda the case with THE GHOSTS OF ROSE HILL, it still left a mark on me.

R. M. Romero's book really is a haunting one, but in the most beautiful way of that word possible. Thinking about it makes me wanna cry though, lol.

POETIC. MAGICAL. HEARTFELT.

The Ghost of Rose Hill is one of the books I picked up because of the cover art and no regrets cause I'm telling you, the storyline, the writing style, the character development, the cultural representation, and everything else about this book is truly captivating as the cover!

The lines are also breathtaking. As the editor said, "Crack the book open and you will see how seemingly every line hits like a punch to your feelings."

Here are some of my faves:

🌸 "They say the final girl is the last one standing because she's pure. But they're wrong. The final girl survives because she can be just as ruthless as the monster who wants to destroy her."

🌸 "And the most impressive monsters are always the least impressive men.

That's all, not gonna spoil much cause you have to experience it yourself.

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet and prettily written quick read.

This was a neat concept for a book, part coming of age, part ghost story, part heritage lit, and the writing is gorgeous. I was skeptical going in about the verse form text but found it to be lovely.

The story itself needed more atmosphere and less confusion in tone to be a true success, though on the whole I enjoyed it.

It’s a bit difficult to reconcile the heavier themes with the almost cartoonish villain (He literally screeches “I eat children!” Sigh.) and the mayhem-y denouement didn’t quite match the tone of the rest of the book. Neither is truly bad (I love a crazed, cartoonish ending as much as the next gal), but the disparate approaches didn’t fit together and left me unsure how I was supposed to react.

I would have loved more attention to setting in all of the locations used in the book, but particularly Prague, the book’s primary setting. The book’s best feature is the writing itself, which is beautiful from start to finish.

<p>I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc to read and give an honest review.</p>

<p>I literally read this book in one sitting I loved it so, so much. It is written as a musical piece, including movements and interludes. The writing itself is also very lyrical and reads as poetry. Within the chapters, little sections of poetry and scenes are separated with the first line of that section being in bold.</p>

<p>The book is in first person point of view, primarily from Ilana's point of view, though the interludes are from Wasserman's point of view.</p>

<p>The book was full of literary devices which I absolutely loved. There was a motif of flowers and also of candy and food being used in imagery which I found very interesting. This book did not have quotations around the dialogue, but the dialogue was still easy to read as it was italicized instead.</p>

<p>The story followed Ilana, her dad immigrated to the US from Prague and her mom from Havana. Her mom is also Jewish, so Ilana is Jewish as well. The book takes place over the one summer while Ilana is 16, in which she is staying with her aunt in Prague. She comes across a Jewish cemetery and meets Benjamin, a ghost who was born almost 100 years ago and died at 16. She also meets Wasserman who is not quite human. It is easy for Ilana to become caught up with the more mythical, magical world as her parents did not want her to continue playing violin, they wanted her to find "better" career goals.</p>

<p>I loved both Ilana and Benjamin and their story was bittersweet. In a way everything did resolve well but I couldn't help but shed tears towards the end. There is a bit of a sense of forbidden romance between Ilana and Benjamin as Benjamin is a ghost and Ilana is human. </p>

<p>There is also a sense of betrayal in the story when something is revealed to Ilana. In this sense, there is a sort of dramatic irony as we learn what this is through the interludes from Wasserman's perspective, but Ilana does not learn about it until later on in the book.</p>

<p>Ilana is a very powerful character and she eventually learns to stand up for her own dreams and live life the way she wants to.</p>

<p>It was a quick and enjoyable read and I cannot recommend it enough. This book will definitely stay with me and I will be thinking of Ilana and Benjamin for a while longer.</p>

This book was simply not for me, and that's not against the book at all. I'm just not a big poetry fan. I have found that I love Elizabeth Acevedo's works, so I thought I'd give poetry another try, but this is the second novel-in-verse to fall flat for me. The story is intriguing, and I was really drawn to the concept and the abundance of culture, but I found myself slogging through the prose. I need a faster paced book and I am not a fan of constant over-flowery speech. Not a bad story, but the delivery was not for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me a free eARC!

this book was a real change of pace… it was my first time reading a book written in prose. i wasn’t sure if i’d like it but i did! the writing was very beautiful and i could relate to some of it to some degree. though, the parts where the protagonist kissed the ghost was hard to picture. overall, this was a great book!

The Ghosts of Rose Hill is a book in verse that follows a bi-racial Jewish and Latina girl, Illana Lopez, who visits her aunt in Prague. While there, she discovers she can see ghosts and strikes up a relationship with Benjamin, who died many years ago and the mysterious Wasserman. As Illana learns more about herself and Prague, she learns that monsters can pop up in the most unexpected of places.

This was good! I'd generally recommend it to folks who like bildungsroman in verse. It's very thematically similar to Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, so I 'd hand it to folks who loved that book. I don't have a ton to say about it - it's haunting, the romance will connect with the right reader, and I enjoyed the mythological elements but for some reason, it failed to make a huge impression on me. Nonetheless, I liked it, and will recommend it as an entry point for books in verse. Goodreads/Netgalley 3 stars/4 stars.

I’m not sure what compelled me to request this book from NetGalley (probably the stunning cover) but I am so so glad I did.

Synopsis: When sixteen year old musician Ilana is sent to live with her aunt in Prague, she discovers an abandoned Jewish cemetery and in it, the ghost of a boy her age. Ilana becomes entranced with the wonder of Prague’s magic, and finds herself caught up in the world of its spirits, both good and evil.

I don’t typically read novels in verse, but Romero’s language was stunning. Numerous times I had to pause and reflect on the way she put such few words together to create such a rich image and feeling. I immediately connected to Ilana’s character as a fellow musician, as well as her journey to unpack her ambition, her longing to be understood, and her reflections on femininity and what it means to move through the world as a girl.

Ilana’s story was rooted in her experience as the granddaughter of Jewish and Latinx immigrants, a voice I’ve never read before.

I recommend this book for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and Ruta Sepetys.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a wonderful coming-of-age tale. I feel that so many teenagers will be able to relate, and I was moved by the verse almost constantly.

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for a honest review!!

I can describe this story in one word: heartfelt. I could feel the author’s passion for sharing this story early on in my reading experience and that made it all that much more enjoyable. The main character’s struggle with wanting to pursue music yet meet her parents expectations for creating a better future for herself than they were able to at her age was something I felt in my soul as I was reading. There is so much more packed into this book that I loved, but it feels like this is the kind of story you need to just jump into and explore for yourself.

Wow. It's going to take me a while to gather my thoughts about this book. I don't usually go for verse novels, but this one worked on every level for me--I read it in a sitting, weeping the entire time. It's beautiful. It's terrifying. It's devastating. It's perfect. I could tell from the first few pages that this was going to be a book that meant a lot to me. I'm an American Jew living in Europe (ok, the UK, but close); I've spent time wandering the Jewish cemeteries and old synagogues of Europe looking for the traces we left behind. On one hand, this book is a lovely fable/fairy tale and tribute to art, music, storytelling, and myths everywhere. On the other, it's an incredibly specific study of inherited generational trauma and its impacts on us all decades and centuries later--what it means to be Jewish is to always live in the shadow of tragedy, to walk on bones (as Romero so beautifully puts it). It's always closer than you'd expect. Wow. Okay. I'm going to go take a lap and process my emotions. I expected to love this book; I didn't expect to be devastated to more core. Thank you thank you thank you for this

I always love books written in prose, well, mostly. This book is no exception. I love the writing style, the pace is entertaining and quite fast, and the story also contained many things like the struggles of immigrant families (esp. Jewish), the dark history when Nazi occupied Prague. The topic is heavy but real. I can feel many emotions behind each and every word.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

This was a fascinating book to read. I was so intrigued by a story that was about Jewish folklore in Prague, especially with a biracial lead who was dealing with multicultural conflict on top of everything else. The art and Jewish history that was present throughout this book made it intriguing to read, even if it was a bit confusing to follow at times. I am also Jewish and was raised with some of this folklore, so it was interesting to see how it was spun into a YA novel. I loved seeing how the author's experiences in clearing out Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe tied into the myth of this book. I think my hang-ups with this book really just came down to writing style - but that is such a personal preference. This was such a unique book and I am really happy I had the opportunity to read it. 3.5/5

Thanks NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for allowing me to read the ARC of this amazing book!

The story is about Ilana Lopez, a 16 y.o Jewish-Cuban girl living in Miami, who wants to pursue music as a violinist but being opposed by her parents. She was sent by her parents to spend summer with her eccentric artist aunt in Prague. While she should have been studying and thinking about her future, she stumbled upon a ghost boy in an abandoned old cemetery and decided to taking care of the cemetery. As she taking care of the cemetery she formed a friendship with the ghost boy–named Benjamin, and as wander around the city, she met a man with no shadow that seems to understand herself better than anyone in her life ever did. And... her journey to discovers the underlaying history of Prague and the magical mystery surrounded it begin!

This book is about a coming of age story, first love story, immigrant tracing back her ancestors story, a ghost story, and a magical realm in modern setting that absolutely beautiful and take your breath away! This is an encouraging and heartwarming story, you may find comfort in this book. The ending part left me in tears because it's so heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

I really love the character development the main character have from hiding her heart to be brave and courageous to fight for her dreams and even fighting the evil monster in disguise! She's a clever girl. The connection between Ilana and Benjamin is so beautiful and pure love. That's how I thought how pure and selfless love is supposed to be, and I love the way the author portrays it. I also love the interlude parts that shows us the POV of the no shadow man. Well done!

It's my first time reading a YA Novel written in verses or prose like this and I absolutely love this book! It's written beautifully, every lines and the story is breathtakingly interwined and left you wanting for more! There are many lines that made me goosebumps and I couldn't even track down how many of them (so I wouldn't spoil it, because you need to experience it yourself!). What a magical reading experience for me. Definitely one of the best book I've read this year and a must-read-book of 2022!

This was a moving ghost story that explores Jewish and Czech history and folklore.

Ilana, a biracial Jewish girl is sent from her home in Miami to her aunt in Prague. Her parents' intention is for her to focus on studying, as they are not willing to accept her desire to pursue music. Ilana was a compelling character - likeable and sympathetic whilst still very much a teenage girl.

Whilst in Prague, Ilana discovers an abandoned Jewish cemetery and begins tending for the graves there. It's there she first meet Benjamin, a ghost from the early 20th Century. These events are used as heart-wrenching exploration of death and remembrance, and, in particular, the horrors of the Holocaust and the scars it left behind.

The story is written in prose but don't be put off by this. I admit I probably wouldn't have given it a chance it hadn't been available as 'read now' ARC, but I actually found it really easy to read, and Romero uses her words and imagery magnificently.

Overall, a beautiful, haunting story I highly recommend.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.